The Villages Health primary care clinics soon will accept patients enrolled in the Florida Blue Medicare Advantage plan, which has one of the nation’s largest networks of medical providers.
Villages Health patients were notified of the change in a recent email. Healthcare system changes usually go into effect at the beginning of a calendar year.
The change is significant because the local primary care centers currently exclude patients over age 65 with Original Medicare. The patients currently must be enrolled in UnitedHealthCare The Villages Medicare Complete advantage plan or Tricare for Life, which covers many retired military veterans. The centers also accept commercial insurance plans for patients under age 65.
Adding Florida Blue Advantage plan, part of Blue Cross Blue Shield, could increase the number of patients in the Villages Health system, which has struggled since it stopped accepting patients with Original Medicare nearly three years ago.
The Florida Blue advantage plan now includes access to the University of Florida Shands Hospital in Gainesville and the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa. These popular options were not in the UnitedHealthCare Villages plan network.
The Florida Blue plan also could make it easier for Villages Health primary care patients to access care outside the area due to Florida Blue’s extensive national network.
In Medicare Advantage plans, health care providers receive regular payments for each enrolled patient regardless of whether the patient receives services. With Original Medicare, payments are made only for services provided.
Three years ago, the Villages Health announced it no longer would accept primary care patients with Original Medicare and supplemental policies, also known as Medigap, effective Jan. 1, 2017. Villages Health specialists continue to accept patients with Original Medicare.
The announcement unleashed a firestorm of complaints. More than 80 percent of respondents to an online poll said they would leave the Villages Health instead of giving up their Medicare plans.
Up to 15,000 of the system’s estimated 42,000 patients were affected by the change, although the Villages Health did not publicly reveal how many patients left.
Since then, the healthcare system has made efforts to woo back some its departing patients. Some doctors have left while others were asked to work longer hours or give up bonuses.